Debate raged in Israel today over the wisdom of killing one of its most bitter enemies at the price of the lives of 14 Palestinians and international condemnation of the devastating Gaza air raid.
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A day after the killing of Salah Shehada, commander of the military wing of the Islamic group Hamas, it emerged that the F-16 warplane that attacked his house used a one-tonprecision "smart bomb" to ensure he could not survive.
"Ultimately it was the military's mistake, but it does not send an F-16 to a populated area without political authorisation," Mr Haim Ramon, chairman of parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, told Israel Radio.
Military affairs correspondent Mr Ron Ben-Yishai said on the same programme the destructive power of the bomb was doubled by its detonation in a dense warren of buildings in Gaza City.
In an editorial, Israel's biggest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, said Israelis would shed no tears for Shehada, blamed by Israeli security officials for dozens of suicide bombings during the Palestinian uprising against occupation.
But it said: "Even when the enemy is cruel and terrible, the heart still aches at the sight of tiny bodies being borne to their grave."
Nine Palestinian children, including a two-month-old baby, were among the 14 others killed in the attack.
The strike, which Palestinians called a massacre, drew rare criticism from Washington which joined the European Union, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a slew of countries around the world in condemning the strike.
EU foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana said there had been signs an agreement to end a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings within Israel had been within reach before the air raid.
But Israeli President Moshe Katzav, repeating Israeli leaders' expressions of regret at the loss of innocent lives, challenged Mr Solana's assessment.
"It is the opinion of all security elements that (the Palestinians') intentions are not serious and they will not stop the terrorist attacks," he told Army Radio.
Mr Katzav holds a largely figurehead post, but he said he is briefed regularly by the military and Israeli intelligence.
Israel carried out the attack one day after Hamas's spiritual leader, wheelchair-bound Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said the group would consider halting suicide attacks if Israel withdrew from occupied West Bank cities.
Asked if he was apologizing for the air raid, Mr Katzav said: "I would call it an expression of sorrow and condolences to the families."
Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon called the strike a "great success" but said he regretted the death of civilians.